Student Chapter Leadership Workshop

The Optics + Photonics 2010 Student Chapter Leadership Workshop was the largest one ever with 155 students from 27 countries! The 9th annual two-day workshop began early Saturday morning at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina.

SPIE Student Chapter leadership workshop speaker Alaina Levine (Quantum Success Solutions) offered practical advice about the care and feeding of careers in science during the day-long training on Saturday. Levine reminded students that perception is reality, when it comes to reputation, and had practical advice on how to prepare for an interview, tips for making a presentation, and more -- everything for a "laser-sharp" career.

Sunday morning, students and early career professionals heard perspectives on career paths from three panelists of differing backgrounds, who offered common-sense guidance aimed at helping attendees make decisions for their future. Panelists included SPIE 2010 President-Elect Katarina Svanberg, Chief Oncologist at Lund Univ. Hospital. She spoke about the difficulties, yet rewards, of changing careers. Svanberg started her career as a history teacher, and then decided to follow her passion to be a doctor. "You must have courage in yourself, motivation, and initiative," she said.

Lisa Tsufura works in industry as the Marketing Director for CVI Melles Griot. She urged attendees to "love what you do. Find your life's passion and pursue it!"

Noah Finkelstein is an associate professor of physics at the Univ. of Colorado at Boulder and conducts research is in physics education. He says students should take advantage of fellowships and grants to get their foot in the door. Although he's been in the academia world most of his professional life, he noted that "if you don't switch careers once, you're not trying hard enough."

The morning's activities concluded with lunch and a talk by Prof. Finkelstein, entitled Scholarly Approaches to Education: the Role of Physicists in Education.